The Return
by AlexThor
Summary: When Finn is cast into another world by the Lich, the Land of Ooo descends into chaos. What will Ooo's greatest hero find when he returns?
1. Chapter 1 - Enemies

Lumpy Space Princess was moving faster than she ever had before. She weaved and dodged her way through the copse of gnarled grey trees, panting heavily.

The sun was setting fast and night was threatening to spill over the hills behind her, like some great tidal wave of darkness. The canopy of orange and brown leaves above her already obscured the last beams of the fading sun.

She could hear them behind her. Crashing through the undergrowth, snapping twigs and battering aside low-hanging branches.

But that was all the noise they made. The creatures themselves were silent. That's what terrified Lumpy Space Princess the most.

She'd heard stories of times when that silence had gotten people killed. Stories of stormy nights when the dark and the thunder and the wind hid them completely.

Until they got close. But if they got too close, then you were dead anyways.

"Lump off!" she screamed over her shoulder, her voice a mix of anger and panic. No reply came. Just the crash of two dozen pairs of feet closing in on her.

They were getting close. She could hear the clang and jangle of their rusting armor, the rattle of their ancient spears.

"I'm serious! Go away!".

She could see the edge of the forest up ahead. Faint beams of light still illuminated the landscape beyond. She continued to fly madly towards it.

Closer still. Now she could hear the creak of their bones as they ran and pumped their arms.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw one. Her left side. It was past her. Now one on the right. They were making a beeline straight for her. Her muscles were aching, her breath was ragged and sharp.

Then she felt a cold, bony hand dig into her back and she went down. Tumbling to the earth with one of those things clinging to her.

She landed with a soft thump. It was on top of her. She screamed.

Empty eye sockets. White, noseless face. Gumless teeth. A skeleton.

It wore a battered helmet, ancient and bronzed by the years. It raised an arm, sword in hand. Ready to strike.

In her peripheral vision she could see the rest of them. They were walking now, forming a circle around her. Lumpy Space Princess wasn't going to escape. Not this time.

Then the most miraculous thing happened. A flash of golden light, more intense and brilliant than the sun at it's zenith, flared into existence mere yards away.

The skeletons around her whipped around to face this new threat, drawing swords and levelling spears. They formed a line, bristling with rusty steel.

The gold light faded, replaced by a lone figure. He was crouched, head bent. As he rose to his feet, blood red sword in hand, the sunlight fell across him.

And for one brief moment, his face was silhouetted by a golden halo of light. Shaggy golden hair hung like a mane around his head.

Then darkness fell.

The skeletons charged this strange man en masse, a rush of bone and steel and iron. A spear was thrust towards his heart, but when it reached him he had moved. With a single stroke of his sword he cut the haft in two.

Their crude wooden shields were shattered by his blows, their spears cleaved in twain and their swords and axes knocked aside like toys. Every sweep of his crimson sword ripped one of the creatures apart, sending pale fragments across the forest floor.

In a handful of seconds he decimated the skeleton warband, leaving a pile of broken bones and steel around him in a great swathe.

Then, in one brutally fluid motion he leapt towards Lumpy Space Princess and removed the last creature's head from its shoulders. It collapsed in a lifeless heap.

"Oh. My glob. Finn?!".


	2. Chapter 2 - Finn

"Finn!" Lumpy Space Princess yelled, rising to her feet and wrapping the hero in a crushing hug. "Oh my glob! Like, what the lumps are you doing here? Everyone thought you were gone, but, like, you're back now and-".

Finn broke the hug and raised a hand for her to be quiet. "Oh, right" she said, dropping her voice to a whisper "There could be more of those jerks around".  
"Lumpy Space Princess, what were those things?" he asked. She frowned. His voice was gruff and low. Much lower than when they'd last talked.

"Uh, they were skeletons. Obviously" she said, crossing her arms and smirking "Where've you been?". Then her face fell. "Oh right, sorry".

"It's good to see you LSP" he said, a smile crossing his face. "Glad you're okay".

"Yeah, thanks for like, saving me and junk..." she said, trailing off and looking away. She seemed embarrassed to have been saved.

"LSP" he said, bending down to meet her eye level. He'd gotten taller too. "You need to take me to the Candy Kingdom".

Lumpy Space Princess stood stock still, eyes fixed on some imaginary point behind Finn. Tears started to well in the corners of her eyes.

"LSP, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, its just...like..." she was unable to speak, her voice strangled by tears now flowing freely down her face. Finn looked at her strangely, as if unsure what to do. He was confused by her sudden display of emotion.

Lumpy Space Princess took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes with the heel of her hand. She took another breath before continuing.

"Finn, the Candy Kingdom...it's" she paused, viciously suppressing hot tears that threatened to burst from her eyes once again. Finn was looking at her intently, frozen in place.

"The Candy Kingdom is like gone, Finn!". His eyes widened, pupils dilated, but he remained still. "It's lumpin' gone Finn! They lumpin' blew it up!".

She started to sob again. After a moment he rose to his feet, putting a hand on her shoulder. Lumpy Space Princess was hysterical.

He waited at the edge of the forest for what felt like an hour. It probably wasn't half that long, but just waiting in one place wasn't right. At least, it didn't feel right. Finn had been on the run so long that remaining in one place didn't seem natural.

After a while, with the sun gone completely and the moon hanging low over the horizon, Lumpy Space Princess was ready to go.

"I'm like sorry about that Finn. But it's just..." tears were threatening to spill again.

Finn turned on her. He was livid, his face twisted with anger. His hands balled into fists at his sides. "LSP, just, just shut up!" he screamed at her.

She stopped. That hadn't done much to deter her tears. "LSP, I'm sorry okay. I didn't mean it, it's just...". Now it seemed as if he might cry.

"I come back and there's skeletons and then you tell me the Candy Kingdom was destroyed. I mean, that just makes me feel...I dunno. But I'm sorry. Okay?".

Lumpy Space Princess nodded.

"Is the princess still alive?" he asked. Finn winced in anticipation of the answer. If the Candy Kingdom was gone...

"PB? Yeah, she's okay. She lives with Muscle Princess in like the Mountain Kingdom now. It's pretty cool, I guess. Kinda lame".

Finn stood still for a moment, thinking. Finally he spoke. "Well if that's where Bubblegum lives, we go there. I need to figure out what's going on".

"Yeah, sorry I don't know much. I've been like camping out here".

"Sure" he said dismissively. "Come on, we need to get going. Where are we?".

"Oh right. We're on like the edge of the Cotton Candy Forest" she said, pointing towards a small bridging spanning wide river. "See, that's the lumpin' bridge across the river to the Candy Kingdom".

They weren't far from the Mountain Kingdom. Across the bridge, through the Cotton Candy Forest. Then they would follow the river around the mountains and find Muscle Princess's castle.

Finn nodded. "Right. Let's get going".


	3. Chapter 3 - Mountains

They made most of the trip in silence. The bridge crossing was easy and they encountered no more of the skeletons that, according to LSP, roamed most of Ooo. The Cotton Candy Forest was unchanged, even after all the time he'd been gone. The trees were tall and pink as always. Lumpy Space Princess steered him away from the Candy Kingdom. Maybe she thought the sight would be too much for him. Maybe she was right.

As they walked, Finn made a conscious effort to focus. On his surroundings, on taking step after step, just...focus. On something other than being hunted.

Six years. Six years he'd been gone. But being back, after all that time, it was different than he'd expected.

All that time he'd been gone, Finn had fantasized about this moment. He had imagined bursting into tears. From sadness at being gone, or from happiness to be back.

But now that he was back...it felt strange. Unreal. Like he'd emerged from cruel reality and returned to the fairy tale land of Ooo.

It was funny that Lumpy Space Princess had been the first one he'd run into. He'd always thought it would be Jake, his beloved brother come to greet him. Or maybe Bubblegum. Bubblegum. He could see her again. The real her.

Focus. Finn brought his mind back to the world around him. Step by step. Breath after breath. Beat of his heart after beat. Stay in the moment. If he'd learned anything from his disappearance, it was that.

They'd long since rounded the mountains and gotten back to the edge of the river. Now they followed its serpentine path upward. He could almost make out where it flowed down from the crook between two snow-peaked mountains.

They were surrounded by forests. Real ones, with great green pine trees. Not cotton candy ones.

The journey had become more arduous after they got back to the river and around the mountains. It was all uphill here, increasingly taller hills leading up to the slopes of those massive mountains.

Lumpy Space Princess had been quiet too. That wasn't like her. She never used to shut up. But now...clearly Finn wasn't the only one who'd changed.

Eventually they came to a clearing in the forest. They'd reached the base of a mountain, sloping up to a peak many thousands of feet above them. Trees climbed the slope, dwindling away into the distance.

And there, in the center of the clearing, was a castle. Massive stone blocks, smoothed and burnished by the ages, formed low walls around a central tower. A circular wooden gate was set into the walls.

And there, in the window of a tower, was a faint trace of pink. Finn squinted, trying to see into the room. Pink hair. Bubblegum pink.

For the first time in six years, Finn allowed himself to weep. He wept not for joy or for sadness. The young hero wept because the sight of her brought him no happiness.


	4. Chapter 4 - Reunion

One of the Muscle Princess's servants ushered Finn and Lumpy Space Princess inside. Finn's lavender friend retired to a spare room, apparently tired from their long walk. "Thanks for like saving me and junk" she said.

The moon hung high in the sky, nearing its zenith. It must be nearly midnight.

The servant took Finn up the long, winding staircase to Princess Bubblegum's room. "I'm sorry Muscle Princess wasn't here to greet you. She's campaigning in the grasslands at the moment, and shouldn't be back for some time".

Finn wasn't sure what campaigning meant. But apparently it meant that the castle was understaffed and the guards had departed with the princess. Probably for the best if what Lumpy Space Princess said was true and those skeletons were all over Ooo.

Finally they arrived at the top of the stairs. There sat a wide door of dark wood. "I'll leave you sir. If you need anything, please find me. I'll be working the kitchens".

The servant went back down the stairs, leaving Finn alone with at the door.

What was he going to do? In the six years he'd been gone, she hadn't left his thoughts. He'd often thought about finally seeing her again.

But now the moment was here. All the giddiness and hope and expectation had melted away, disappearing into the ether. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to see her.

But he had to. He was back and her kingdom had been destroyed. Clearly there was something going on in Ooo, something a hero like him could surely help with.

Hero. The word was strange. In Ooo he was a hero, a term that had once upon a time fit like a glove. That's what Finn had been. Had been. Past tense. He wasn't sure if he was still a hero.

Focus. He centered himself, focused on his ragged breath and the quickening beat of his heart. Thump thump thump thump, a drum pounding in his ears.

Finn knocked on the door. He rapped three times. "Who is it?" came the muffled, sing-song reply.

It was her voice. It really was. Princess Bubblegum, the one he'd known since he was a boy. No. The one he'd known as a boy. He'd been a kid when they met and he was only fifteen when he was pulled abruptly from his home. That had been another lifetime. Would she even recognize him?

Oh glob, how did he reply? Should he say it was Finn? Would she believe that, after all these years? Once she saw him, she'd know, but if she just heard it through the door would she even-

Finn's thoughts were interrupted as the door swung open. Then she was in front of him, and time seemed to stop completely.

Bubblegum was...the same. Impossibly, improbably the same. It looked as if she hadn't aged a day since he was gone. She still wore her hair the same way, pink locks flowing down past her knees. It seemed ridiculously impractical.

"Finn" she said, astonished, as if she were asking a question. Maybe she didn't recognize him...

Then she lunged forward and embraced him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing as hard as she could. It felt as though she were squeezing the life out of him.

For a moment he panicked and had to fight his instincts. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged him. But plenty of things had tried to actually squeeze the life out of him, and that was much more recent.

Her head was buried in the crook of his neck. He felt more than heard her tears. Twin streams of warmth pouring off his shoulder and down his chest. Soaking his shirt.

After a long, long moment she broke the hug. Her tears were gone, but her eyes were still red and puffy. She made no attempt to conceal this.

"Please" she said, turning back to her room "Come in".

And for a moment Finn stood on the precipice of decision. Rationality told him that he needed to follow her, talk to her, figure out what was going on. But a far less rational and far more ravenous part of him wanted to enter for all the wrong reasons.

With a breath he suppressed this primal part of himself and took a step. He was in the room now, past the door and the point of no return.

Bubblegum sat down at her desk, directing him to another nearby chair. Finn sat.

For a while they simply looked at eachother. Maybe she felt the same anxiety at their union that he did. He couldn't know that.

"Where were you?" she asked quietly, her voice reduced to a husky whisper. He could tell she was trying to contain her emotions. Her eyes were...her eyes...Now Finn could see it. Now he could see the six years he'd been gone.

Her face and skin were unchanged, but her eyes were different. They were old. Older than she could have been by a long shot. They were deep, dark wells of emotion. Sadness prevailed in them. But frustration and pointless fury were there too.

"Where were you?" she asked, her voice suddenly intense and raw. She was looking straight at him, right into his eyes. Boring into him with her gaze.

"We never needed you more than we did in those six years. The lives you could have saved-".

Finn was shocked by her sudden outburst. Out of all the scenarios he'd imagined, this hadn't been one of them.

"It wasn't my fault, you know what happened" he said, matching her intensity "You were there, PB!". This wasn't fair. She didn't get the right to be mad, he was the one who'd been cast out of Ooo into some living hell.

"Six. Years". She waited a moment, letting the words sink in. "You were gone six years. For six years we didn't have a hero and for six years we suffered because of it".

Now he was on his feet. Black, nameless rage was rising within him, filling his chest and burying him under its weight.

"You want to know how long six years is, Bubblegum?" Finn asked. His voice was low and dangerous. "Wherever that portal took me, it wasn't Ooo. It wasn't even earth. Six years I've been on the run. Six years everything I see has tried to kill me. Six years I have been alone, completely alone. You weren't there for me, no one was. No one. You have no idea how long six years is".

Then he stopped. Standing there, towering above the seated woman. His chest rising and falling with breath.

"I'm...I'm sorry Finn" she said, lowering her gaze to the floor. Her voice was soft again. "But you were gone...without you we...we couldn't hold it all together Finn".

Her repentance made Finn no happier. Now he felt awful for talking to her the way he had. If she'd have just kept being mean to him...

Finn huffed out an angry breath. "What about Jake? He could have helped. Or Marceline".

"Jake couldn't help us. He's..." she lost her composure, started to cry again. Something had happened to Jake. Finn's heart skipped a beat, then another after that. He held his breath.

"Finn...Jake's dead".

**Finally a decent length chapter! They'll be more or less this size from now on. Hope you guys are enjoying, it's my first adventure time fanfic.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Ache

An iron fist had plunged into Finn's stomach, stealing the air from his lungs and the words from his tongue.

He was forced off his feet, back into his chair. A massive weight was bearing down on him, crushing him. The chair was being pushed down into the rough stone beneath it.

Then a numbness, an acute chill set in. It was like being under the Lich's influence. Finn was frozen, but unable to feel the cold.

Glob dammit, why was he so numb to it all.

He wanted to burst into tears, he wanted to scream and cry and shout. He wanted the pain to burn like fire, to make him bleed like a tear in his flesh, to...to make him feel something.

But instead all he could do was sit there. And that was so much worse. Finn was boiling in his own agony, bottled and sealed by his own desensitization.

"Finn". He looked up. Bubblegum was talking again. Tears were in her eyes. He envied her tears.

"Finn, I'm so sorry. I really am. I can't pretend I feel the your pain, and I won't lie and say I understand it". No, she couldn't.

Jake had been his brother. Jake had been his best friend, and for many years after dad died Jake had been the closest thing to a father he'd had.

Jake had taught Finn how to be a righteous adventurer who kicked evil's butt and saved people from monsters. Jake was the only person in all of Ooo that Finn had known since he was born. He was Finn's only real family. She couldn't understand that.

"But I can at least tell you that he died saving the whole kingdom...the whole world from the Lich's evil".

"And it's my fault" Finn choked out. His voice was barely audible, more quiet than a whisper. Bubblegum paused, lips pursed. She was startled.

"Finn" she said, some of the conviction leaving her voice "You can't blame yourself for this, you didn't have any-". "Yes I did. I should have been there, I shouldn't have let the Lich catch me off guard".

Bubblegum let out a little annoyed noise. "Finn, you're not being fair to yourself". Her voice was indignant, as if Finn's anger was somehow directed at her. "The last time you saw the Lich, he was in the Time Room with Prismo. No one even knows how he got out!".

Finn remembered the day the Lich had returned. His fifteenth birthday party. It seemed like more than six years ago. All he could remember were snapshots of it, brief flashes of sound and image.

Then the Lich had arrived, and that darkness had fallen over him. Finn, beckoned that ancient, lonely voice. Come to me. His legs began to move of their own volition.

Come to me, my boy. The voice was hypnotic, almost soothing. He was marching towards the source of it. His breath fogged the air before him. It was cold. So very cold. All he wanted was to follow the voice, follow it to warmth.

Through there, Finn. It is warm in there. Then a maddening hole opened up before him, a ragged, bloody tear in the universe gaping hungrily before him.

"It is my fault PB!" he was loud, practically screaming at her. "The first time the Lich attacked my mind like that, I resisted. I broke free. But this time" Finn paused for a moment, gritting his teeth.

"This time I didn't and you're telling me Jake is dead because of that? How does that make sense!?". He was on his feet again, clamping both of his hands onto her shoulders. He was so angry, it was filling him up. He needed to release his rage somehow, but he couldn't. It was just sitting in his chest, building and building but never reaching a crescendo.

"How is that not my fault?!". There was fear in her eyes. He shook her by the shoulders, kneeling down to meet her eye level. "Answer me damn you!" he screamed.

"Fine" she said, spitting the word like venom. "If all you want to do is sulk, that's fine with me. When you want to talk to me about what's been going on and how you can help, just come back here. For now just..." she paused, looking away.

"Just get out!" she yelled, fists at her side. She shoved him away, sending him sprawling towards the door.


	6. Chapter 6 - We Have To

Finn woke up with a start the next morning. Bad dreams had become a nightly affair for him. Always the same dream, always the same end. Every night.

It was only after he wiped the sheen of sweat from his forehead that he realized he needed a change of clothes. What he wore was a size too small, a collection of ill-matching furs and rags reduced to garbage by years of sweat and blood.

After changing into the robe that hung from a coat hanger on one of the stone walls of his room (which fit him just as badly as his old clothes) he made his way downstairs and back to the kitchens.

There he found Bob, who was of course delighted to provide Finn with a new set of clothes. For some reason he was disappointed with the selection.

Unconsciously he'd been hoping for his old clothes. The ones he'd worn into that nightmare world and hadn't brought back. His mind worked in mysterious ways.

The clothes he were presented with were similar though. A light blue sweater, tan cargo pants and some brown hiking boots. Finn made some inquiries about a hat, maybe a white one, but apparently there were none. According to Bob, hats distracted people from Muscle Princess's muscles.

Bob then led the newly clothed Finn to a washroom, which included a hot shower.

The warm water felt good on his skin. He couldn't believe how long it had been since he'd showered. The cold, fast flowing water of streams and rivers was all he'd been able to wash in.

After his shower, Finn made his way back to the kitchen and got a decent meal. Warm chicken and baked potatoes, not a rabbit skewered and cooked over a fire.

A stomach full of warm food, a shower with soap and new clothes. Things he hadn't had in years. Simple luxuries, but ones he'd sorely missed.

But back then Jake had cooked for him. Everything burritos, ice cream, camomile tea, sandwiches...Jake. Jake used to cook for him.

Finn down his fork, the silver utensil clanging against his porcelain plate. He wasn't hungry anymore. He didn't want the warm food, or the hot shower or the new clothes. What he wanted was Jake.

But he wasn't there. Finn pushed away his plate, stood to leave. He couldn't move. A vice gripped him, holding him in place.

Before he knew he was crying, Bob was there at his shoulder. "Shhh, it's alright. It's alright" he said, barely above a whisper.

Twin streams of warmth flowed down his face. He sat back in his chair, weeping soundlessly. His shoulders shook with the silent thunder of his grief.

"It's alright" Bob said, a reassuring hand on Finn's shoulder. "I know" he said quietly "I know it hurts". For whatever reason, something in Bob's voice made Finn believe him. "He's gone and it hurts, and we have to cry. We need to let it out".

**I hope you guys are liking these. I know they haven't exactly been action heavy, but they'll get there. If you like this story, please fav or follow this. If you've got any ideas for improvements or just things you'd like to see, please tell me!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Looming

Finn met Princess Bubblegum over breakfast the following day. He'd been anxious to talk to the princess ever since his outburst.

Finn hadn't been acting like himself. He should have gone with his gut and not gone to visit her right away. Going straight to her as soon as he came back to Ooo wasn't smart. He should have given himself time to calm down.

The young hero sighed. He'd been waiting in the castle's dining hall for what felt like half an hour. It was probably only a few minutes, but it still felt like a half hour.

So he sat there at the incredibly long and incredibly lonely table, just waiting for Bubblegum to show up. Maybe she'd changed her mind. Maybe she was still mad.

The table must have been forty feet long, with dozens of chairs. It was designed for Muscle Princess and all her muscular knights and servants, not a lone human.

Finn's heard the sound of a door creaking open on old iron hinges, followed by the sound of timid steps on the stone floor. Normally her gait would have been quiet, but it carried through the silence and echoed off the walls. He turned to look at her.

Princess Bubblegum looked, for the most part, like her usual regal self. Her pink hair was straight and her dress was frilly. But her eyes were rimmed with red, the skin under them taut and sallow. She had been crying again. Finn hoped it hadn't been over him.

She seated herself next to him. He opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him with a raised hand.

"Finn, I'm sorry about..." she trailed off, muttering something under her breath. "Look, I'm very sorry about what I said to you. I really am. But you have to understand where I was coming from".

Bubblegum moved her chair closer to him with a sound like nails on a chalkboard and placed a hand on his knee. She regarded him with sad, intent eyes.

"When the Lich returned and you disappeared, for the first time Ooo didn't have a hero. You were always there when we needed you, and before that there was Billy. But with Billy dead, you gone and Jake-".

Bubblegum stopped, noticing the pain in Finn's eyes. She cleared.

"Anyways, we were on our own. For a while things were okay. We didn't have any big problems until...did Lumpy Space Princess explain anything to you about the Skeleton King?".

"I don't think she did" he replied, trying to recall. LSP had talked a lot on their journey to the Mountain Kingdom, but he couldn't remember anything about the Skeleton King. She'd mentioned Brad...and Melissa...but no Skeleton King.

"We ran into some skeletons though. They were attacking her when I came back". Bubblegum nodded.

"He was Skeleton Princess's father. But unlike her, the Skeleton King was evil. He was imprisoned in amber by Billy, just like the Lich".

"And we all know how that turned out" grumbled Finn.

"Right. Well, eventually a big problem did come up and we didn't have any heroes to defend us. So Skeleton Princess released her father, hoping that she could convince him to defend Ooo and be righteous".

"However, that was far from the case. Instead, the Skeleton King seized power and took control of the Boneyard Kingdom".

"Oh glob. The whole kingdom?" Finn asked. That was astonishing, that was...unheard of. In all the time he'd been in Ooo, Finn had never heard of anything like a whole kingdom falling to someone.

"Indeed" Bubblegum said, continuing. "And before we could stop him, he sent his skeleton armies across Ooo and ravaged kingdom after kingdom".

The Princess's gaze fell to the ground. "Those were dark days".

In the pause in her speech, Finn become suddenly and uncomfortably aware of how...for lack of a better word, intimate their positions were.

She was sitting barely a foot from him, one dainty little hand on his knee. During his time away from Ooo, he'd seldom thought about his feelings for...for anyone.

But he did find it very...distracting. In a very pleasant way.

"The Wildberry Kingdom, the Breakfast Kingdom...even my beloved Candy Kingdom...all lost to that monster's rampage". For a moment it seemed as if she would begin to cry again. But she steeled herself.

Before she could continue, a horn blared from outside. It was muffled by the walls of the castle, but still hearable. It sounded three times, followed by a commotion from within the castle.

Bubblegum's face brightened and she stood quickly, making her way towards the door. "It's Muscle Princess! She's returned from her campaign!".

Finn stood to follow her, but then a fourth blast of the horn stopped Princess Bubblegum dead in her tracks.

"Princess?" he asked, approaching her and laying a hand gently on her shoulder. "Princess, what does four horns mean?".

"It's not good, that's for sure".


	8. Chapter 8 - Dead Man's Switch

Princess Bubblegum and Finn were running, dashing out of the keep and into the courtyard within the walls.

Bubblegum ran awkwardly with her long, constraining dress and high-heeled shoes. She had to hold the hems of her dress up as she ran, like something out of a movie. The Princess struggled to keep pace with Finn.

A rough staircase was hewn into the stones of the outer wall. Several of the castle's staff were already making their way to the ramparts.

By the time Finn and Bubblegum were at the top of the wall, the scene had resolved. Three horn blasts, Bob informed Finn once he found him on the wall, meant Muscle Princess was returning. Four however, meant she hadn't.

Emerging from the copse of trees that surrounded the castle was a lone horse. Riderless, terrified and bloodied.

The poor thing was running at a full gallop, bucking wildly as if trying to dismount some unseen rider.

Before anyone could get to the ground and open the gates for it, the horse crashed into the castle walls and came to a stop. It's head shook and twitched.

Princess Bubblegum and the rest of the castle staff made their way back down the staircase with all haste. Finn looked down at the horse, watching it silently from the ramparts.

Then he noticed something, causing him to crane his neck and lean over the edge. The unmistakable glint of metal, hidden somewhere among the dried blood and the horse's wild coat. A message bag maybe.

And without a second thought, Finn leapt from the wall.

He began making frantic calculations as he fell. That almost made him laugh, thinking about what would happen after he fell. But he hadn't laughed in a long time. It didn't seem like a trend he was going to break soon.

The wall couldn't be more than thirty feet high. Finn didn't have a cloak or cape to use to try and arrest his momentum...

Finn's thoughts were interrupted when he crashed into the ground feet first, sending out a cloud of dust in a halo around him.

He was surprised he hadn't broken his leg. In fact, he was surprised he hadn't broken his spine.

Finn rushed over to the stricken horse, laying a hand on its nose. The horse still wore its saddle and reins hung loosely over each side.

He stroked the horse down the length of its snout, trying to calm the frenzied creature. "Shh, shh, it's okay". Truth be told, he had no idea how to handle horses.

That glint of metal caught his eye again. It was the clasp of a saddlebag. Finn reached over to grab it, fumbling with the clasp.

By now the others had opened the gates and several staff were surrounding the horse, trying to calm it.

Finn delved into the bag and brought out a tightly wound scroll. It was sealed with a gob of red wax, emblazoned with the symbol of...something, Finn couldn't tell. It might have been a muscular arm.

Finn tore the wax off, opening the scroll. Maybe it was a message from Muscle Princess. He began to read the tightly wound script.

_PB, if this letter has reached you then the campaign has failed. I may be dead, or captured by the Skeleton King's forces. We met with victory several times and managed to free some of the Skeleton's slaves. However, we were outnumbered from the start of the campaign and I doubted we would be able to return. That's why I wrote this letter. I also wrote it to urge you to reconsider my plan. I know you hate her, but you have to contact the Queen of Flames. She's the only one left in Ooo who could win this war. Please. Do what's best for Ooo._

_-Muscles_


	9. Chapter 9 - Departure

In times of great crisis, such as war or the appearance of a powerful enemy that posed a threat to all of Ooo, Princess Bubblegum would have called a meeting of Ooo royalty. Candy raven after candy raven would have been sent to every corner of the land, carrying her message. Princesses, kings and dukes would have arrived in their dozens at the Royal Congressional Hall in the Badlands.

But Finn knew that was unlikely to happen now. In fact, it was nigh on impossible. Half of Ooo had been conquered by the Skeleton King and his hordes, leaving only the wilderness and a few holdout kingdoms unclaimed.

So a meeting was called in the castle's dining hall, with the attendees including Finn, Bubblegum and Bob. As Muscle Princess's closest (and maybe only) living relative, he was left in command of the Mountain Kingdom.

As their informal conclave began, an air of grim isolation seemed to hang over the assembly, a cloying fog of solitude. They were on their own now.

"As you know" began Bubblegum, her voice rigid with formality and what Finn suspected was well-concealed despair "Muscle Princess was our military leader in the war against the Skeleton King. She took nearly three hundred soldiers with her on the latest campaign".

The Princess paused, taking a long, deep breath. Her eyes were fixed on point located nowhere near the other two at the dining table.

"We have to assume they were all..." she trailed off and furrowed her brows, as if searching for the word. "Lost". She was so used to presenting news of this caliber to an assembly of nobles that she sugarcoated every phrase.

"So...Finn". Now she turned to look directly at him, scrutinizing every detail of him with an uncannily adept expression of assessment. Finn felt that her gaze was boring into him, trying to search out any flaw within him. Something that would make him somehow unreliable, unable to fulfill the task of fighting the Skeleton King's forces.

Well, he had plenty of flaws. He'd had six years to develop them and gain new plenty of new ones too.

"From this point on, you're going to be carrying out the campaign on your own". For some reason he wasn't unnerved by this. He felt no wave of anxiety or fear wash over him. Maybe he had a death wish. He wasn't exactly sure at this point.

Finn nodded solemnly, but Bob looked distraught. He was smart enough to know that Finn couldn't beat an entire army.

"Princess, as much as I respect your opinion and the measures you've taken to ensure our survival, this is...this is idiotic. There's no reason to waste Finn's life on something as impossible as taking on the Skeleton King". Bob's voice had become shrill.

Bubblegum frowned and rubbed at her eyes. She looked tired. Like the events of today had drained what little energy she'd been holding on to for all these years. It looked as though she would have eagerly taken the chance to lie down and not get back out of bed. Finn knew the look. He'd seen it in every mirror, every pool of water. Reflected back at him like a mockery.

"What choice do we have?" she asked, suddenly infuriated. "If we don't fight back, we're only going to lose the lives of everyone here. Make no mistake Bobbert, Ooo will fall if we don't take action here".

Bob slammed a fist down on the table, silencing the Princess. "This is ludicrous!" he screamed. "As much as you want him to be, as much as he's tried, Finn isn't a glob damn superhero! He's a righteous man who's good with a sword, but he's not a miracle worker".

Bubblegum scowled, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. "And what would you suggest, Bobbert?" she said icily, spitting out the last word like poison.

There was a long pause, silence filling up the room and pressing down on them all like an iron weight.

"The Queen of Flames" Bob put forth. Finn didn't know who she was, but he knew that there had been some sort of tension as to whether or not to call on her. Some long standing disagreement between Bubblegum and Muscle Princess.

Bubblegum put her head in her hands, muffling her voice. "You know the consequences, Bobbert. Is it worth the risk?" she said, pulling her head from her hands and straightening her back. Bob responded sharply, quickly, as if he had rehearsed the answer for some time and was now only waiting give a prepared response.

"It's a risk, as you said Princess. But a chance of success is better than waiting to die at the hands of the Skeleton King and his hordes".

Princess Bubblegum paused again, squeezing her eyes shut and sinking further into her seat. For what felt like an eternity she sat and considered. Whoever the Queen of Flames was, she must be very dangerous. After all, what could be worse than being defeated by the skeletons?

Finally she opened her eyes. "I suppose you're right. There's no alternative. Bobbert, I thank you for your service. Mind the castle while we're away. We'll leave for the Fire Kingdom as soon as we're ready and move at all haste".

For the first time during the meeting, Finn spoke up. "We? Princess, if the Skeleton King and the Queen of Flames are so dangerous, you shouldn't come". He paused, unsure of whether to voice his next thought. "I don't want to put you in danger".

For a moment, just a moment, the facade of stoic rigidity shattered and she was exposed. Her eyes softened, melted. Then it was gone.

"That's kind Finn, but I'm the one with the plan. And let's not forget I'm the diplomat here too. And believe me, the Queen of Flames is going to need a lot of convincing".

**Sorry about the wait, I had a triple wammy of reasons not to do this. I had the plague, broken toes and about seven exams. But now I'm back with a vengeance! I know the stories haven't delivered on action so much, but that's coming. So, stay strong!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Flambo

The ride from the Mountain Kingdom to the Fire Kingdom was a long one. Longer even than Finn's trek to Muscle Princess's castle. Finn remembered Bubblegum having a giant bird called Morrow, but he didn't ask. He assumed that it, like everything else, was gone. So they took candy horses, following the river down out of the forest and onto the Grasslands.

Crossing the entirety of the Grasslands was something Finn had never done, and even on horseback it seemed to stretch endlessly from one horizon to the other. The flat nature of the Grasslands aided them little in the way of wind resistance.

As they rode across the low, sweeping hills, Finn was unnerved by what he saw. The land remained unchanged, but the sky...the sky alarmed him.

It seemed that the sky had been torn away, leaving an otherworldly emptiness looming above him. Finn was sure that if he were to sleep under those vast, empty skies he would be swept away again, deposited in some eldritch nightmare world.

It was a full day to the edge of the Fire Kingdom, and in that time a storm began to brew. Not anything tangible. A dampening of the air. Cold winds. Dark clouds on the horizon. A storm was coming.

Bubblegum and Finn reached the Fire Kingdom, a smoldering hinterland of ash plains and burning forests. Everywhere they found signs of change in the realm.

But perhaps most shocking were the Fire Wolves. Once wild and aggressive creatures that attacked anything passing through their domain (as Finn had discovered while trying to take Flame Princess back to get some of her stuff). But now those fiery canines cowered in the shadows as they passed.

As they rode through the burning forests, Finn began to speak.

"Princess, you need to fill me in on this Queen of Flames" he said, trying to sound conversational. It wasn't an art he'd had much practice at in the last half decade, so he doubted it sounded very conversational at all.

Bubblegum continued to ride without turning to look at him. "What do you want to know?". It was clear this was something she wasn't relishing and that he was only making it worse by asking about it. But if she was going to help with the war, he at least needed to know who she was.

"It's Flame Princess" she said coldly. There was no particular inflection in her voice, but the words still seemed to drip with venom.

"Oh" Finn said, trying to sound unshocked by this revelation. "Math" he muttered under his breath. He should have been able to figure that out on his own. Queen of Flames, Flame Princess. The connection was very obvious.

Bubblegum continued to ride in silence, as did he. He was suddenly unsure of the whole situation. Would she be happy to see him? Or would she think he'd abandoned her? For that matter, would he be happy to see her? Oh glob, it was like reuniting with Princess Bubblegum all over again.

They'd been dating when he'd been ripped out of this world and shoved into another. He'd loved her then, and she'd loved him. But now?

Finn was pulled out of his thoughts by Bubblegum. He yanked back on the reins, bringing his candy horse to a stop. "What, Princess?" he asked, noticing that she was stopped in front of him.

She smiled, for the first time in what felt like a long while. "Look who it is" she said gleefully, dismounting and running over to a scorched stump on the ground. Sitting on the blackened tree stump was a diminutive flambit.

"Flambo!" cried Finn, leaping from his horse. He ran towards him and almost embraced him before remembering what that would entail. Finn stopped short of Flambo and grinned. Princess Bubblegum and Flame Princess he'd been nervous about, but he was happy to see Flambo? Finn must be going crazy.

"Finn?" the flambit said in a hushed tone, as if he didn't believe what he saw in front of him. Flambo rubbed his eyes and blinked before a smile spread across his face like...well, like fire.

"Finn! It's good to see yous!" he said, leaping off the stump and onto his feet. He turned to Bubblegum and bowed at the waist, acknowledging her with a curt "Princess".

"But uh, whaddya guys doin' here?" he asked, punctuating his question with a nervous laugh. "I mean, you know you ain't allowed in there, Princess". Bubblegum frowned, furrowing her brows. Then her expression changed to a well-practiced one of joviality and comradery.

"Can't you sneak us in, just this once Flambo?" she asked, not quite pleading. "For old times sake?". Flambo scratched his chin, looking away as he considered it.

"Hold on" Finn interrupted "Why can't we go in? We just wanna see Flame...I mean, the Queen of Flames". That was going to take some getting used to. Flambo made a little hmph noise.

"Queen a Flames eh?" he pondered for a moment. "Hey, didn't I set you up with her when yous was, I dunno, twelve or something?". Bubblegum's frown returned, but Finn paid it little attention. Truth be told, it had been so long that Finn couldn't remember if he'd been twelve, thirteen or fourteen when he met Flame Princess.

"Well, I suppose I could make an exception" Flambo said, the corners of his mouth curving upwards ever so slightly "If you'd be willin' to...make it worth my while". Bubblegum took of her pack and set it on the ashy dirt, rummaging through it. She produced a few lumps of coal and tossed them underhand to Flambo.

"Alright...I guess...I can let yous in Princess...you too Finn" the flambit managed between mouthfuls of coal. "This's good stuff there, Princess".

"We'll be needing flameshield too" added Bubblegum. Flambo stopped his chewing and sighed, as if their every request were a weight on his shoulders. "Alright, alright" he said with no small amount of annoyance.

Flambo raised his hands and began to chant the incantation, his mouth stretching and bending in ways that shouldn't have been possible. Flaming glyphs materialized around him.

"And don't-" Bubblegum managed before Flambo spat a gob of fire at her forehead. She sighed and her shoulders sunk. "Thank you Flambo" she said exasperatedly. Flambo grinned. "Eh, no problem Princess!".

With that, Bubblegum and Finn set off into the Flame Kingdom proper. He could've sworn it was hotter than it had used to be.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Fire Kingdom

It lay before the two like a window into hell.

The sky was a dark arterial red, choked by clouds of black smoke that stretched impossibly into the distance. Volcanoes could be seen, sitting amongst a vast magma sea that bubbled and boiled, providing an eerie orange glow to the whole scene. Strange spheres of obsidian hung above the sea, lava pouring from them and down into the ocean in great streams. Towering creatures of cooling obsidian waded through the ocean, exuding foul smoke from their eyes and mouths.

Before them was a mountain of dark volcanic rock, pockmarked and worn by the eons and burnt black by the heat. Even through their flameshields, Finn and Princess Bubblegum could feel the heat radiating from the sea of liquid rock.

A thin, snaking pathway led from their vantage point to the mountain castle. It jutted from the sea as if it had simply grown from the magma. As they crossed it they were careful to watch their step, hanging only feet above a fiery death.

As they came closer to the mountain, they could see a vast entrance. Triangular in shape, it was cut into the dark rock and stretched into its interior.

Several guards stood before the entrance, crossing their staves as they saw Finn and the Princess approaching. They were tall and imposing things, formed from cooled magma. Glowering red eyes scrutinized them from gaps in the obsidian armor.

"State your business" one called in a harsh, metallic voice. The fire at the end of their staves flared to life.

Before Finn could speak, Bubblegum stepped forward and addressed the guards. "Noble guardians of the Fire Kingdom" she began. Finn smiled. She'd always had a way with words. "We seek entrance to the Fire Palace and a meeting with the Queen of Flames".

The guards remained staunch and immobile, but a few glances passed between them. Again the guard spoke. "Who is this you bring with you, Princess of the Candy Kingdom?". Finn thought he could detect the slightest hint of bile in the guard's voice.

This time it was Finn who spoke. "I" he said, trying to use a grand voice "Am Finn the Human, hero of Ooo". Again, glances were exchanged between the guards.

"Very well" said the speaker, and as one they uncrossed their staves. The fires at their tips remained. "We will escort you to the throne room of her majesty".

With that the guards turned and, in lockstep, marched into the mountain. Finn and Bubblegum followed them.

The Queen of Flame's throne room was a breathtaking sight. At least to Finn it was, though he'd only ever seen Princess Bubblegum's throne. Maybe all the kingdoms had something this spectacular.

The room was formed of the same dark volcanic rock as the mountain itself, the ceiling stretching far into the distance. The distance from the entrance to the rooms behind the throne must have been nearly a quarter of a mile.

On either side of Finn and the Princess, along the entire hall, were tiered rows of seats occupied by the Queen of Flame's courtiers.

They were like candles, a head of fire suspended just above a body of obsidian. Everywhere Finn could see crude, volcanic mockeries of elaborate dressed and fine suits. There must have been thousands, all cackling and jeering sycophantically.

And at the back of the hall, there she was. Finn was still too far to see any details, but her glow was intense. The focal point was almost too intense to look at.

As they drew closer to the throne, still escorted by the phalanx of obsidian-clad guards (or maybe they were obsidian, Finn wasn't sure), the jeers of those around them became more intense. The flame people in the seats began scream insults and curses. Some even tossed tiny balls of fire at the two. Finn was especially glad he had the flame shield now.

Princess Bubblegum had steeled her face, appearing impassive as ever. Finn cast his gaze left and right, up and down over the assembled flame people. He couldn't tell if they were a court or an audience waiting for a show. They just seemed like mad animals.

When they had come within thirty or so feet of the throne the guards stopped, standing rigidly to attention.

Now Finn could see her. The Queen of Flames in all her grandeur.


	12. Chapter 12 - Queen of Flames

**Hope you're ready for a long chapter! By my standards anyways.**

The throne was a masterpiece. It was also impossible. A tiny volcano sat high on a pedestal of rock, a seat carved into it. Smoke rose from its caldera and tiny streams of lava ran down its sides. Behind it was a window, or rather a hole in the mountain, framed on either side by doors leading to other chambers. Real volcanoes and those strange hovering globes silhouetted the Queen.

She had changed since Finn was gone. Maybe even more than he had, certainly in appearance. Her great mane of hair floated around her head as if blown by some ethereal, nonexistent wind. A shining golden tiara with a great red stone set into it sat on her head. Her body was different too, having shed any semblance of puppy fat. She was slender and tall, elegant, every bit a queen.

The biggest change that Finn could sense had nothing to do with appearance. A horrible smile was etched onto her face, her eyes burning with cruelty. It was not a smile that meant good things to come.

"My my" the Queen said slowly, tapping her nails on the arms of her throne. "The Princess of the Candy Kingdom". Her words were overly enunciated, weighted with sarcasm. Her courtiers laughed madly, a deafening roar.

The Queen of Flames rose to her feet, making her way down the steps to the hall's floor. "Why do you grace us with your presence today?".

To her credit, Bubblegum managed to smile a warm, charming, diplomat's smile. "I beseech you, Queen of Flames, we need your assistance in the war". The Queen's sardonic smile fell, replaced by a look of pure disdain.

"What war, Princess? Your war against the Skeleton?". The Queen of Flames laughed, a single piercing note. Her smile returned somewhat. "What concern of that is mine?" the Queen asked sweetly.

Bubblegum remained calm under fire. Finn wasn't sure what he should do. Speak up? Would that help the situation, or just make it worse?

"Please" Bubblegum said, sinking to her knees. She was definitely pleading now. "We've tried everything, but we can't stop him". Finn was becoming uneasy. Was she this desperate, or was she trying to play the Queen? This kind of thing really wasn't Finn's...thing. And he was beginning to sweat. How long did flame shield last again?

"We've lost Muscle Princess and her army, the last army in all of Ooo that could oppose him. Except yours. Please. You have to help us". The Queen of Flames laughed again. "No. I really don't. Now go" she said, waving a hand dismissively "Begone before I throw you into the sea".

"Enough!" a voice cried. It was answered by a deafening silence. A thousand burning eyes were turned on him and Bubblegum, including the Queen of Flames.

It took Finn a moment to realize the voice was his own.

The Queen of Flames surged towards him, leaving a trail of fire in her wake. The lower half of her body had become a winding snake of flames.

"Impudent little cur!" she spat, raising a hand as if to strike him. Suddenly his instincts kicked him and his sword was in hand, his face turned up to meet her glare.

The Queen of Flames recoiled, returning to humanoid form and staggering backwards. Her expression had shifted from enraged to astonished. "That sword" she hissed "How did you come by that sword?".

Finn lowered the sword, took a few steps closer to her. She continued to back away, suddenly terrified. Her flames were diminishing, as if she were being deprived of oxygen. The obsidian guards looked nervously between eachother, none of them sure what they should do.

"Queen of Flames" he said, trying to clam her, to stop her from running. That didn't sound right at all. "Flame Princess".

She stopped dead in her tracks. "How do you know that name" she said, astonished. "No man in the land of Ooo knows that name". Finn couldn't answer her. He didn't want to. The Queen of Flame's eyes played rapidly across Finn's face, darting back and forth, scrutinizing. "No" she said under breath. Only Finn could hear her.

"No!" she roared, flames bursting from her eyes and mouth, her body roaring and blooming with fire. She swelled to twice her original size. The Queen turned her eyes on Princess Bubblegum.

"You!" she screamed, taking a massive step towards Bubblegum. "What is this?!" she was screeching, shrieking at the top of her longs "Are you trying to trick me?!". She roared some incomprehensible animal noise. "You bitch! How dare you!". The Queen of Flames pointed to towards the window. "Into the sea with them!" she screamed "Into the sea with the her and the impostor!".

"Stop!" Finn yelled, his voice cracking. The Queen turned her baleful gaze on him, her mouth twisting into a snarl. Her eyes on him produced a tangible heat, like he was standing next to a roaring furnace. The guards surrounded Bubblegum, forming a circle and levelling their flaming staves at her.

"You dare speak to me! You have no right! No right to speak to me!". She pulled back her arm as if to pitch a ball. Instead the Queen of Flames sent a fireball roaring towards Finn. He dove out of the way, the shockwave sending him sprawling. He tumbled over onto the jagged rock of the floor, drawing blood from several places.

"Flame Princess!" he shouted before she loosed another fireball and he was forced to sidestep it. "It's me! I'm really Finn!". She scowled, then extended her arms as twin jets of flame burst from her palms.

He ran as fast as he could, trying to outpace her flames. She was tracking him, the jets of fire just feet behind him.

Finn roared wordlessly. "Why. Won't. You. Believe me?!". Flameshield or not, he could feel himself being cooked by her powers. The fire spilled under his feet, burning him and forcing him to leap forward.

The fire stopped and she began to speak a spell. Finn knew next to nothing about magic, but this was big and complicated. That probably meant dangerous. Now was his only chance.

"Remember the time you came to my house, but it started to rain!?" he blurted out, speaking as loud as he could. She was still building the incantation. "And you were stuck out there, right next to my house and I didn't even know it, and you were just dying out there?!".

Her words faltered and she stammered, starting the spell from the beginning. Her eyes were closed as if she could somehow block him out.

"But then I saw you out the window and I just jumped out!" he was standing on the balls of his feet, prepared to run. The guards had Princess Bubblegum in chains now, singing her clothes. "And I ripped my shirt off and covered you with it! Then I picked you up" his voice cracked and failed for a moment, and he had to clear his throat.

"I picked you up and carried you inside, even though it was burning me. And I hugged you, even though it burned me more. Because I didn't want you to die, I didn't want you to get hurt". The Queen of Flames stopped speaking and squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Tiny trails of magma were leaking out of them.

"Please" he said, his voice softening and lowering. "Please". Lava was streaming from her eyes now and she was biting her lip. "I always new you were righteous, even though you were raised evil. Well...well I still believe it!".

She began to shrink back down to her normal size. "But please, you have to help us! We need you now, everyone needs you!".

The Queen of Flames sunk to the ground, lying on all fours and sobbing wretchedly. Bubblegum was being dragged towards the edge of the window by the obsidian guards. "Flame Princess!" he yelled. She continued to weep. "You have to make them stop! Make them stop!".

For a moment, for one terrifying moment she said nothing. Then she choked out the word "Stop" between fits of sobbing. And the guards stopped.

Finn was so relieved that he could have joined the Queen of Flames in crying.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Calm

Finn looked down from the top of the hill with awe. They had assembled the army at the edge of the Grasslands and the Fire Kingdom, where there was enough flat land to get their troops in proper order. It was a magnificent sight.

The soldiers of the Fire Kingdom, archons Finn was informed, were strange creatures. Pure orange fire coerced into the form of a man and kept in that shape by ornate armor of beaten black iron. Each held a pike, tall and cruelly barbed at its tip. Finn would have guessed the number of pikes in that great sea of black metal at over one thousand.

The archons were ordered into rank after rank, separated into a dozen formations of roughly equal size. Walking the lines between these ranks were towering red-skinned giants, great mohawks of fire sprouting from their demonic faces. Each held a bullskin drum.

Scattered among the formations of archons were the same creatures Finn had seen wading through the magma sea only two days ago. Lava poured from their unclosing mouths and smoke streamed from their eyes.

It had taken little time to plan the attack. The Queen of Flames, Princess Bubblegum and the Fire Kingdom's generals had sat around a conference table, poring over maps and scrolls (all fire-proofed with some form of flameshield). Eventually they decided to cut straight across the Grasslands and through the Evil Forest. That would take them past the eastern mountains and deliver them to the heart of the Boneyard Kingdom.

All that despite the Princess's resistance. She had urged them not to cross the Grasslands, warning that they'd "Burn half of Ooo to the ground". Finn had disagreed with her and she'd finally assented to the plan. "Fine" she'd said, arms crossed and scowling "But when half of Ooo is ashes, don't blame me".

Finn had been fitted with a spectacular set of armor, especially cooled for him by water straight from the Fire Palace's torture chamber.

Interlocking plates of gold-trimmed black metal with curving shoulder spikes and a fluttering cape of flame. He' made sure they renewed his flameshield before he put it on. The helmet was the best part, a roaring dragon's head. He looked through its gaping mouth. He cut a menacing figure, all spikes and black and fire.

Now he sat atop a lonely hill behind the army, looking down at it. His mount was a horse of pure fire, clad in the same ornate black iron plates as the archons below. Bubblegum and the Queen of Flames were beside him, each mounted on their own fiery steeds.

The Queen had been fitted with armor as well. Angular plates of what appeared to be smooth orange rock covered her chest and shoulders.

Bubblegum had equipped herself with some sciency inventions she'd apparently brought in her pack. A large gauntlet, covered in silver circuitry and with a large crystal embedded in the palm. A helmet as well, covering her entire head. It had some sort of visor that she claimed was to help with her aim.

The Queen of Flames took in a deep breath and steeled herself. She pointed skywards and produced a bolt of fire that went shrieking upwards. Without waiting a beat, the fire giants began to beat their drums. It was a slow beat. One, two. One, two. The lava creatures roared and the archons slammed their pikes into the ground. Then they began to march.

**I know this chapter was kind of superfluous, but I couldn't figure a way to really skip it. So I cut some parts. Enjoy!**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Storm

Finn rode the horse hard. They were travelling across the Grasslands with haste, the archons having proven completely tireless. The rock men and fire giants took long, bounding strides that covered yards.

Princess Bubblegum had been right after all. Behind them was a line of fire, following close behind them and stretching far into the south. Clouds of roiling black smoke rose from the burning grass and streamed up into the sky, darkening the sun. Globs of molten saliva fell from the mouths of the giant rock men, leaving a trail of cooling rock behind them.

Finn gritted his teeth and rode on. He couldn't stop the Fire Kingdom's army now, much as he'd like to. Maybe it was worth it, the destruction they were leaving behind them.

Finn imagined what it would like like from above, a great swathe of blackened earth smattered with chunks of cooling lava.

But now they could defeat the Skeleton King. It was worth it, it had to be worth it. They could defeat him and put everything back to normal. Except it wouldn't be normal. Jake was still dead, the Candy Kingdom was still gone.

This was the new normal. The Grasslands burnt to a cinder, the Queen of Flames and the Mountain Kingdom. That was what he was going to find once this war was over.

The Grasslands wouldn't be the Grasslands, Flame Princess wasn't Flame Princess and Jake wasn't his brother. Jake was nothing now, just a memory. Did anybody even care besides Finn?

Hours passed and the great horde of archons continued on its course. Eventually the passed through the Evil Forest. The whole thing went up in an inferno, trees bursting into flames and falling over and crumbling to ash. Finn didn't feel too bad about this place. He'd been nearly killed plenty of times here. Evil was in the name.

Then they were through the Mystery Mountains and in the middle of the Boneyard Kingdom.

Truth be told, Finn had been expecting a more impressive castle. Something giant and evil-looking. Maybe it would be made of bones? But in reality, the Skeleton King's Palace was actually pretty humble.

It was a stone keep in the middle of the plains. Nothing particularly malevoletn or exciting.

But as they drew closer, it was clear that it was well-garrisoned. Ranks of skeletons stood on the walls, still and silent. They looked as if they might be sleeping. Finn knew that was an illusion. Those things were deadly.

Maybe a few hundred were on the castle's ramparts, but the archons had them outnumbered.

The drum beat, which had remained constant over the hours of their journey, began to quicken. Faster and faster, until the giants were pounding frantically and the archons broke into a sprint.

Then the castle's great gate groaned open and all hell broke loose. A tide of skeletons rushed out of the opening and didn't stop flowing. They broke into a dead run, armor clattering and bones creaking.

Two silent armies, both closing with eachother rapidly. Then the front ranks hit.

Finn had to take his attention off the battle at large as a hulking skeleton brandishing an axe in either hand charged him. The creature's lower jaw was unhinged entirely on one side.

Finn spurred his horse forwards then leapt from it, tackling the skeleton. He didn't know how to fight from horseback, and today wasn't going to be the day he learned.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Battle

Finn had miscalculated. The skeleton was heavier than him and he failed to knock it to the ground. Instead it flung him off, sending him skidding into the dirt and almost colliding with one of the hulking rock creatures.

He rolled to the side as its huge foot slammed down, a cloud of dust exploding around him. Before he was on his feet again, the creature had smashed his opponent, and several others, to pieces.

Regaining his balance, he went into a flying leap towards the nearest skeleton. The press of bodies around him was hectic, intense and utterly without logic. The archons ranks had broken and both sides fought in a swirling melee of fire and bones and iron and spears.

The skeleton's helmet withered his blow, the demon sword denting it. Finn ducked a vicious swipe at his head, his enemy's sword whirring past him. He swung his sword, cleaving into the thing's ribs and shattered its spine. It collapsed to the ground.

No sooner had Finn dispatched the skeleton than another was on him. He brought up his sword to block an axe blow, their weapons ringing with the familiar sound of steel-on-steel.

Finn grunted with effort as he threw off the axe and the creature staggered backwards, giving him an opening. He jammed the tip of his blood red sword into its skull, ending its life in an explosion of bone fragments.

Finn needed to think clearly here. He had to get to the Skeleton King, not get bogged down in the battle. The archons could take care of these enemies, he needed to put an end to their master.

He attempted to get his bearing and look for the castle, but he couldn't see with the dragon's head helmet on. Without a second thought he ripped it off, tossing it into the fray.

Setting his eyes on the castle and its still-open gate, he broke into a run. Finn tried to pick a course that would take him out of the way of the fighting, but within seconds he was surrounded by half a dozen skeletons.

They wielded an assortment of axes and swords, including some kind of scimitar. They rushed him and he rolled under a barrage of ill-aimed if vicious strokes, knocking the legs out from under one attacker.

Finn spun his sword around him in a wicked arc, cleaving two of his opponents in half and tearing the arm from one. A fourth skeleton lunged at him with an axe in either hand and brought them down on him, forcing him into a parry that shattered one of its weapons and sent the otehr flying. He decapitated the creature cleanly.

The skeleton he'd knocked down was back on its feet, swiping at him with the scimitar. The shining steel, at odds with the rest of the creatures' decaying arsenal, clanged off his shoulder pad.

Finn slammed his elbow into its face, the armored point shattering its skull. The last two charged him and tried to run him through with swords but he sidestepped and they missed. He kicked one into the dirt and smashed the other with the flat of his blade.

He turned from the remaining adversary and continued his wild sprint towards the castle. All around him was chaos, but he got the impression that they weren't winning. Finn noticed far too many archons isolated from the rest and mobbed by hordes of undead.

In the background a lava man was being assaulted by nearly two dozen skeletons, clambering along his surface and stabbing ineptly at his rocky exterior. One of them finally sunk a blade into its lava-filled mouth. The giant thing's eyes went dead and it crashed to the ground, a tide of molten rock spilling over the creatures who'd killed it.

A spear wielding skeleton loomed in front of him, levelling the cruelly barbed tip at him and holding its ground. Finn pointed his sword in front of him, sidestepping at the last second and impaling the spearman.

He was running at breakneck speeds now, somehow managing even with the armor. He wished he could just take it off now so he wouldn't have to deal with it.

Finn was too distracted by his armor too notice that he was about to collide with someone.

He smacked into something with a sickeningly boneless thwack, tumbling to the ground and sprawling out. Finn dropped his sword. He scrambled for it, snatching it up and leaping to his feet with his blade ready to block.

And there was the Queen of Flames, murder in her eyes and fireballs in each hand. They looked at eachother for a moment, confused. It wasn't another skeleton, it was the Queen.

"We have to get to the Skeleton King" she said urgently, and they began to run again.

The horde of skeletons ahead of them had less and less room for them to move unmolested and eventually they found themselves fighting for every inch. The press of bodies around them was impossible. He was hacking left and right with the sword, paying no attention to form. Every blow killed something. The Queen was tossing fireballs left and right, detonating and sending charred bones flying into the air.

They were getting surrounded fast and there was no way they could keep fighting forever. Finn ducked under a surprisingly swift blow and lost his balance. He was back footed by the follow-up. They were being forced into a tighter and tighter circle.

"Flame Princess!" he shouted, hoping his voice carried above the din of explosions and steal. That wasn't her name any more. He had to remind himself. She must have known they had to get through somehow.

She nodded and stopped her assault closing her eyes and concentrating. Then she splayed her hands forward as if shoving something away and a wave of blue fire was born, ripping through the army of skeletons. Those that weren't shattered by the sheer force of the attack were melted. The heat was so great even from behind the wave that Finn could feel his skin blister and redden.

He hadn't known she was half that powerful. "Go!" she screamed, already running for the massive gap she'd created.

Finn followed suit and dashed after her. His armor had been scorched entirely black and his mouth tasted like soot.

Finally they were through the gate. The entrance to the keep was right in front of them. He was about to congratulate the Queen of Flames, but then the gate slammed shut behind them and the doors of the keep began to open.

On the ramparts above them were rank after rank of skeletons, all holding bows and javelins and stones. Arrows were knocked and spears were cocked. A trap.

"Oh shit". He wasn't sure if he muttered that or she did. It was probably both of them.


	16. Chapter 16 - King Under the Gravestone

Finn braced himself for the onslaught. This was it. He'd failed and now he was going to die. Fancy armor or not, there was no way he was going to withstand a thousand arrows.

Nothing came. The skeletons remained poised to strike. They could kill him right now, him and the Queen of Flames. They could win the war.

But they didn't. That made Finn very uneasy. Then the gates of the keep opened and he knew why.

A phalanx of black-armored men marched out into the courtyard, their line bristling with burnished steel weaponry. Skeletons. But there was something different about them. Instead of empty eye sockets devoid of life, their eyes glimmered with some malign intelligence. Red points of light hung like pupils in eye sockets.

And behind them was the Skeleton King. He certainly didn't disappoint in the evil department.

He must have stood at least three times as tall as Finn. He wore armor surprisingly similar to Finn's though much more intricately wrought. A red cloak of the deepest crimson hung to his feet and golden spikes adorned his shoulders. A crown of jagged black metal sat on his brow. In his hand was a mace with a head as large as a boulder.

For a moment that seemed to stretch into infinity, they simply stood and regarded eachother. The Skeleton King's eyeless skull seemed to peer into Finn, looking for any weakness.

He would find none.

With a roar to put any dragon to shame, Finn drew his sword and charged the phalanx.

And with a hideous, blood curdling scream to put any banshee to shame, the black-armored skeletons charged him.

For a few moments everything was quiet as he closed the distance to the skeletons. Then sound exploded into being as he crashed into their line.

Finn let his momentum carry the sword into the first skeleton, burying itself in the black chest plate and jutting out of the other end. The light in the creature's eyes disappeared and it fell apart. He wrenched his blade from the corpse and brought it up to block a broadsword that came arcing down from above him.

It clanged off and he parried a second blow, this time riposting and finishing the creature with a blow to the head. He brought an overhand strike down on one and cleaved it shoulder from the rest of it. Defenseless, he cleaved it in half.

Their armor was useless against his sword. Six years that sword had been the only thing he'd owned and it had become an extension of his body.

The Queen of Flames was in the midst of the formation as well, blasting things apart with fists of flame and balls of fire.

A vicious sword swipe came down on him, burying itself in his shoulder and ripping away the metal there. It had barely missed his flesh. He grabbed the flat of the blade with his gauntleted hands and ripped it out of the skeleton's grasp. Then he buried his fist in its skull, shattering it.

A double-headed axe was swung at him, but the owner was too slow. He dodged backwards out of its reach, then back inside the creature's guard and pierced its spine with his sword.

The Queen was at the Skeleton King's feet now. She sent a fireball rushing towards him, but much to Finn's dismay he raised a hand and arrested its momentum. The orb hung lazily in the air for a few moments before the Skeleton King brought his mace down on the Queen, forcing her to lung to the side and hug the dirt.

With a vicious lateral swipe, Finn cut into two of the skeletons, cutting one in half. His blade stuck in the other, not killing it. He tugged on the blade, but it dropped its weapons and grabbed the sword two-handed, yanking it back. The sword bit deeper into its spine and the light faded from its eyes. It was stuck.

A mailed fist came zooming towards Finn and he was forced to duck under it, letting the body and his sword fall to the ground. He'd have to manage without it. The gauntlets were deadly enough.

Finn wrapped his hands around a skeleton's neck and snapped it, the creature falling limp. This was taking too long. There must still be a dozen surrounding him.

He stepped into one of the things, bringing his elbow around and bashing its face. It was knocked to the ground and he stomped on its skull, smashing it. Finn snatched its scimitar.

The sword was awkwardly large and heavy in his hands, but he made do. Apparently the Skeleton King had some command of magic. From his empty hand he sent blasts of scalding black energy towards the Queen, leaving raw dirt where before there had been grass. Some kind of death magic?

The Queen was putting up a good fight, but she couldn't keep dancing forever. Then a mace blow caught her, smashing into her and sending her rocketing sideways.

The Skeleton King immediately turned his attention to Finn. He sent a blast of energy towards Finn, who went lunging out of the way and buried his face in the ground. Jumping back to his feet, he saw that the skeletons had fallen to pieces around him.

Finn was charging towards the Skeleton King, taking a snaking path to try and avoid any more magic. Ray after ray of that death light rained around him, but he closed with his opponent.

Finn made a flying leap towards the Skeleton King and buried the scimitar in it's chest. It stuck there and he dropped to the ground, unarmed.

The Skeleton King remained silent and expressionless, though Finn was sure it was somehow laughing at him.

A blast of death magic caught Finn in the shoulder. It was painless. Finn looked down at his exposed shoulder and saw that it had turned completely black. His flesh was dark and veined with pale white. He tried to move the arm. It was as if his muscles had rotted and his bones had crumbled.

Distracted as he was, a blow from the mace caught him in the same side, flinging him towards the wall. The shoulder appeared to have torn, hanging as it was by a thread. No blood spilled, only clear fluid. Then Finn crashed head first into a wall and his skull broke.

He went limp. He couldn't know his skull had broken, but he was pretty sure. The impact with the wall had winded him severely. The real problem was that he couldn't seem to catch his breath. It seemed as if the impact might have deflated a lung. Everything went blurry for a moment and his vision swam.

Then he could see again. The Queen was standing in front of the Skeleton King again, looking defiant and badly bruised. He could barely make out what they were saying.

"I see you're a magician" she said, her voice cold and utterly unimpressed. The Skeleton King remained silent. "Well, you're a real fourth rate one if that was your A-game". What was she doing? "Because I'm just getting started".

She closed her eyes and breathed a word, sending that same wave of scorching blue fire towards him. He dropped the mace and held up his hands, diverting the fire around him. He sent another blast at her, but she stopped it somehow.

Then she began to swell, rising and rising until she stood level with him. The Queen began to sing an incantation, chanting and moving her hands. The Skeleton King was bounding towards her, moving impossibly quickly for someone his size.

Then she sucked in a great breath. On the exhalation a stream of white fire shot from her mouth, stopping the Skeleton King in his tracks. She kept up the attack and the Skeleton King staggered.

Finally it stopped and the Skeleton King lunged for her. The gold trim of his armor was black now, warped and melted like a candle. His cloak was gone, a flaming red scrap on the ground. He tackled her and she yelped, forced to the ground. He drew back a fist and slammed it into her face, bloodying her.

He tried to sink his teeth into her neck, but she tossed him off and rose back to her feet. "Alright" she said. Her voice was ragged and wet, like there was blood in her throat. Did fire elementals have blood? "You're tough. But when it comes down to it, magic beats brawn. And like I said, I'm. Just. Getting. Started".

The Skeleton King threw a vicious punch, stepping into it and putting his full weight behind it. It slammed into her shoulder, knocking her back to the ground. She screamed out a word and a bolt of white fire shot from her hand and through his chestplate. He fell to one knee.

She began to speak another spell, that same complex one as before. It was long and intricate, giving the Skeleton King enough time to grab for his mace. He had it in hand again and swung it at her overhand with all the force he could muster. She held up a hand and stopped it, erecting a wall of invisible force.

Her brow was furrowed and she looked pained. Whatever the spell was, it was draining her. She was shrinking back down towards her normal size as she spoke.

The Skeleton King brought another blow towards her, but she raised a hand again and a sphere of force sprang into being all around her.

As strike after strike rained on her sphere, she finished the spell. Her eyes snapped open and Finn was forced to look away. They were blinding white points of light, smoldering and spilling over with raw power. She rose back to the Skeleton King's height.

Then twin spears of light burst from her unblinking eyes, zooming towards the Skeleton King. Finn's eyes completely failed for a moment, and when he regained his vision his eyes still burned. One of the Skeleton King's legs was blown off and he sunk to the ground.

As the Queen of Flames prepared to cast another spell, he grabbed her leg and pulled her down to the ground. He pinned her arms to her sides with one hand. Then he began to pummel her. Blow after blow from his massive fist landed on her. At first she grunted and tried to struggle, but after a few good hits she stopped moving. Every successive strike drew a pathetic whimper.

When she finally managed to knock him off balance with a wave of fire, she ran. The Queen of Flames was brutalized, running in a weaving path and tilting left and right. She was running towards Finn.

The Skeleton King was hobbling after her one his remaining leg. The sight was oddly comical despite the situation, and Finn wanted to laugh. He tried, but only managed to cough up blood.

Then she was next to him, kneeling down and meeting his eyes. She threw up a wall of blue flame around them. It would hold the Skeleton King at bay as long as she could hold it. She strained with effort, lava dripping from her brow.

"Finn" she said. "I'm gonna try something". She paused for a moment, looking incredibly pained. Then she smiled. It was motherly and warm, but also impossibly sad. He thought he could see magma welling in her eyes.

"You're going to have to run, okay? I need you to run". Finn shook his head. He could barely breathe. He wasn't running anywhere, even if he'd wanted to.

"I said you need to go". Her voice was sharp and angry. When he failed to reply she grunted angrily. "Get the hell out of here Finn! Just" a single tear dripped from her eye, splashing the ground and cooling into a pebble "Go!".

Everything was slowing down. Finn was distinctly aware that his vision was narrowing, darkening.

Then she turned from him and stood, shoulders back and head held high. The wall of flame went down and the Skeleton King's mace began to fall.

Three things happened at once. The gate burst inwards in an explosion of multicolored light, molten fragments of iron flying in all directions. Finn swore he could see something pink coming through the broken gate. The second thing was Flame Princess tearing the gem off her crown and tossing it at the ground with all her might. The last thing was the Skeleton King. He was screaming. It had all become soundless to Finn, but it seemed like he was mouthing "No".

Then there was a brilliant flash, a searing heat and an arm around his chest. He was hauled upwards.

**I know this was very, VERY long but there was no way to cut it in half. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.**


	17. Chapter 17 - Wake Up Call

Finn awoke in a brilliant white room. Or...no. It wasn't brilliant white. Everything had just seemed so blinding at first. He had to blink a dozen times before anything resolved clearly.

He was in a room. That was definitely true. The walls were painted turquoise, the floor was slate. It looked cool.

He was under sheets, covered to his neck in their cool white embrace. They were so soft and cool...he could have just drifted off back to sleep right there.

But no. Finn needed to stay awake. He needed to find Princess Bubblegum and talk to her. He was still alive, so obviously they'd won the battle. But there had been an explosion and Flame Princess had done something. The Skeleton King. Everything was a bit hazy.

So Finn waited in his bed, unmoving, hoping that eventually some kind of nurse or orderly would show up and help him find Bubblegum.

Then he remembered what had happened to him. His arm had been hit by that death magic, then nearly knocked off by that mace blow.

Finn sat up, pulling back the sheets and revealing his arm. Or rather, his lack of arm. There was just a stump at his shoulder. Sweet glob, he'd lost the entire arm. He sank back into the bed and stared at the ceiling.

How was he going to be an adventurer with only one arm? He couldn't climb up a mountain, or down into a dungeon. He couldn't wield a sword two-handed...oh glob, he'd lost the sword too. Had someone recovered it from the Skeleton King's castle?

Probably not. There had been an explosion, or maybe fire. Heat and light...that was all he could remember. Finn tried to run his hand through his hair, only to remember that he didn't have an arm there any more. At least it was his left, so he could still do most stuff.

With his right hand he reached up and scratched his head. His hair was a mess. It hung nearly to his shoulders. That meant it must have grown since the battle. A lot. How long had he been out?

Finally the door opened and a very muscular, very familiar minotaur entered the room.

"Mannish Man!" Finn yelled, sitting up in his bed. His voice was hoarse and felt oddly different. Like it had been caked over with grit and sand and mud.

The minotaur looked much the same as when Finn had first met him. Light brown fur, an elaborately carved steel belt and an assortment of nose rings and bracelets. That seemed about right.

"Hey Finn! How've ya been?" he bellowed, running over to the bedside and nearly crushing Finn with a titanic bear hug. "It's...great...see you..." Finn managed to choke out as the life was squeezed from him by the minotaur's iron muscles. Finally Mannish Man let go and Finn sucked in a gasping breath.

Mannish Man gave a tremendous laugh. "Great to see you too!".

"Mannish Man" Finn said, his voice serious "How did I get here? And where's the Princess?".

"Bubblegum? Oh, she's just a couple buildings away. I'll send someone to go get her for ya. You, my heroic little friend, are in Cragdor!". Cragdor. That had been so long ago.

"But what am I doing here?" he asked. He was losing patience with the minotaur. "Well, the Princess brought you here of course!" came the reply. "This" said the minotaur, pausing for dramatic effect "Is Ooo's newest kingdom!". He moved his arms in a sweeping gesture. "Pretty awesome huh?".

"Wait, what about the evil skeleton guy? And the ogre? And the evil, old-lady killing gnomes?!". This place had been filled with evil creatures when he'd first come here to get the Enchiridion. It wasn't safe here, he had to get the Princess and get out.

"Hey, relax buddy. They were actors, man. The Ogre wasn't really gonna eat your friend, and the gnomes are pretty righteous dudes. They're just gnomes and illusions, man". That still didn't answer Finn completely.

"But what about the evil guy? The one who wanted my to kill that unaligned ant".

"Oh, he died. Yeah, you killed him. Remember?". Finn didn't remember that. "I only kicked him in the crotch...". "Nope" came Mannish Man's reply "He's pretty dead".

"So this is Princess Bubblegum's new kingdom?" Finn asked. He would have thought she'd go back to the Mountain Kingdom and rule there. Well, he hadn't really thought much about where she would become Princess of. But still.

"Yeah. She took a bunch of the refugees from all around Ooo and brought them here. They used the forests and junk to build a crunk-load of buildings. It's pretty cool!".


	18. Chapter 18 - Epilogue

Princess Bubblegum eagerly awaited Finn's return in Cragdor's formal dining hall, along with nearly a hundred other guests. The table, stretching from one end of the room to another was packed with excited citizens. Candles ran along the middle of the table and lamps hung from the ceiling.

Finn was due to return from his latest expedition tonight and half the city's inhabitants had turned up for the occasion. If it was possible, it seemed that Finn was more beloved now than he ever had been.

After he recovered from the coma the Skeleton King put him in, Finn had gotten back on his feet and become a great hero again.

It had been wonderful to see his transformation. After he'd come back to Ooo, he'd been so down and mopy. But after he woke up, it was like...like a switch had flipped. For a while she'd worried he might have some kind of brain damage. That was how rapid the transition was.

Still, he didn't talk about what had happened in the six years he'd been gone. She didn't ask. Bubblegum wasn't sure if it was out of courtesy, or her own fear.

She'd even managed to craft a bionic arm for him. It was a little buggy and tended to freeze up at inopportune moments, but it was better than no arm. She hoped.

And now here they were, the menagerie of refugees and stragglers that had become the citizens of their new kingdom. Cragdor was a bit brutish, but she'd decided to keep it as is. Mannish Man probably wouldn't approve the name change.

Then the door swung open and someone entered. A cheer went up from the audience as he stepped into the torchlight of the hall.

He'd been gone awhile, and he was wearing different clothes. Ones, she guessed, he'd found or bought on his journey. Maybe even made. It was like a giant leaf that had been wrapped around his body. It was surprisingly-tight fitting. Didn't make much sense, but still...

"Finn!" she cried, running to greet him. About half the kingdom had the same idea, but she managed to get through and sweep the hero up in a tremendous hug. Glob, he was getting tall. She could still remember when he'd been about a foot shorter than her. Now he was practically a head taller.

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Even at his age, whatever that was, he blushed terrifically. Maybe it was mean, but Bubblegum liked it when he did that. He was so...so boyish!

"Hi PB, its uh, nice to see you too". His blush refused to fade and he looked away, smiling and rubbing the back of his head.

They stood in silence for a moment as Bubblegum looked at him. Just...looked. Observed. Took it in. It had only been a few weeks, but it felt like he'd been gone much longer.

"So, what's with the leaf?" she asked. At first he seemed confused, but then something clicked. "Oh, right. Yeah, I went to the Leaf Kingdom. Was that there before?". She nodded.

"Right, so there was an evil king and all, but no one could fight him 'cause they were all leaves. Well, he was too. So I slayed him. And the leaf people made me this bombastic suit thing out of him. Kinda messed up actually".

She hugged him again, burying her face in the crook of his neck and just holding him there. It was...nice. His arms slipped around her, holding her tight against him.

Bubblegum loved Finn, in some way. Maybe she loved him like a little brother, or a close friend or a man who'd saved her and the land of Ooo time and time again. Maybe she loved him in a more romantic way. Sometimes, she really didn't know. But she didn't want to think about it right now. This was nice. Pleasant. Simple. Something she could hold onto. Something, romance or not, she would always have with him.

**Well, what did you guys think? I know the ending may not have been satisfying, but this was how I thought it should go. Make sure to look out for the (hopefully) hit sequel...****_THE CLOCKWORK MAN_****. Ta!**


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